Surgical joint repair procedures sometimes involve the distraction or spreading of bone joints to temporarily hold the joint open which allows the surgeon to gain access to opposing joint surfaces and anatomical features such as cartilage lying therebetween. In some cases, this involves first inserting K-wires (Kirschner wires) through the bones adjacent to the joint. The loose wire ends are then attached to working ends of a surgical tool such as a distractor which operates in scissor-like fashion. The distractor is operated to distract and hold the joint open during completion of whatever surgical repair is needed. When the surgeon is finished, the K-wires are detached from the distractor which is removed. A different tool such as a compressor is then attached to the K-wire ends and the joint is compressed or closed using the tool. This tool switchover may be cumbersome and increases the surgical procedure time.
Accordingly, improved surgical tools and method are desirable for joint distraction and compression.